BROWN,P. T. (1969). Gdotccltnipue19, No. 3, 399-494.

NUMERICALANALYSES OFUNIFORMLYLOADEDCIRCULAR
RAFTSONDEEP ELASTICFOUNDATIONS
P. T. BROWN, BSc., M.Sc.Eng., A.M.I.E.Aust.*

SYNOPSIS
The Paper considers several methods of deter-
mination of reaction distributions and bending
moment distributions for uniformly loaded smooth
circular rafts of any flexibility on a deep isotropic
elastic foundation material. A method of analysis
which makes use of integral transforms and colloca-
tion is presented. This method is believed to be the
first which combines high accuracy of results with
small volume of calculation. Numerical values of
bending moment for a variety of cases are presented.
Cet expose considbre plusieurs mdthodes dbtablis-
sement des repartitions des &actions et des rdparti-
tions des moments de flexion dans le cas de radiers
circulaires lisses B charge uniforme dune souplesse
quelconque sur un matbriau de fondation Blastique
isotrope t&s profond. On pr&ente une methode
danalyse qui utilise des transformations et des
rep&ages par intbgrales. On pense que cette m&h-
ode est la premi&re dans laquelle se trouvent com-
bines des rdsultats dune pr&zisionelevbe B un petit
nombre de calculs. On pr&ente les valeurs num-
Briques du moment de flexion pour des cas variks.

NOTATION
D constant of integration I radial co-ordinate
E* Youngs modulus of founda- t raft thickness
tion material % vertical displacement
E, Youngs modulus of raft 2 vertical co-ordinate (positive
stress function upward)
70 Bessel function of the first
kind of order zero
Lames
tion
constants of founda-
material,
K stiffness of raft relative to (l+v,)(l-%r), E,,Z(lE;yv:j
foundation material, respectively, from Filo-
[E,(l-4/~Wb)~ nenko-Borodich (1958)
Q shearing force per unit length Vf Poissons ratio of foundation
a raft radius material
CO...ll, so...11 coefficients Poissons ratio of raft
number of polynomial terms variable
; intensity of reaction vertical stress
4 intensity of load vertical surface stress

INTRODUCTION
Previously published methods of analysis of uniformly loaded circular rafts, such as those
by Holmberg (1946), Habel (1937) and Borowicka (1936) contain little or no consideration of
the question of errors in the results produced. Calculations carried out by the Author
indicate that serious errors in the values of bending moment are liable to arise from application
of these methods, although the reaction distributions may be reasonably accurate.
Holmberg and Habel assume the reaction distribution to consist respectively of three and
ten annular zones of uniform reaction, and for a comparatively stiff raft this leads to under-
estimates of the bending moment of 50% and 20% respectively. This error arises because the

* Department of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney.

399

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 400 P. T. BROWN

0.072

0.070

6
>
Fig. 1. Values of central moment obtained by using t 0.068
polynomial for reaction
0.066

0.064
15 20. 25 30 35 40
No. OF TERMS IN REACTION POLYNOMIAL

assumed form of reaction distribution is incapable of representing with sufficient accuracy the
distribution of reaction near the edge of such a stiff raft, and this portion of the reaction makes
a considerable contribution to the bending moment. The errors decrease as the flexibility of
the raft increases.
Borowicka assumes the reaction to be represented by a polynomial in the radial co-ordinate
and produces series for the deflexion of the raft and foundation. By equating the coefficients
of corresponding terms in the two series a set of linear equations is derived and these may be
solved for the coefficients of the reaction polynomial. The Author has used this method for a
comparatively stiff raft and after integration of the reaction to determine bending moments,
obtained the values of central bending moment shown in Fig. 1 for various numbers of terms
in the reaction polynomial.
Some improvement was achieved by equating raft and foundation deflexions instead of
equating series coefficients, and the values of central moment obtained thus are also shown in
Fig. 1. Once again the error arises because the assumed form of reaction distribution is un-
able to represent accurately the reaction distribution near the edge of the raft without the use
of a large number of polynomial terms.
For a comparatively stiff raft the reaction distribution is similar to that for a rigid raft, and
the latter is proportional to [l - (~/a)]- l/2 where Y is the radial co-ordinate and a is the raft
radius. The polynomial expansion of this expression converges slowly when Y is close to a, so
that the edge reaction and the bending moments will be inaccurate unless many terms are
used.
A more efficient analysis can be carried out by adding a term proportional to [l - (r2/a2)]- l/2
to a polynomial in order to represent the reaction distribution. The present analysis which is
based on this approach uses no more than twelve terms and avoids the inaccuracies in bending
moment which tend to arise from the other methods mentioned.
Muskhelishvili (1953) and Parkes (1956) have shown that when Poissons ratio of the
foundation material vf is 0.5, the reaction distribution under a strip raft is unaffected by the
roughness of the raft. Lee (1963) has shown that for this value of vf the bending moment for a
rough raft is a maximum and is equal to the moment in a smooth raft, and that for the extreme
case of a rough rigid raft and vf = 0 the moment is 27% less than for a smooth raft. Immedi-
ately after application of load to a raft on saturated clay vf=0.5 and moments decrease as
consolidation proceeds. It seems most improbable that the situation should not be generally
similar in the case of a circular raft, and thus it appears that the results for smooth rafts can
be used as the basis for safe design of rough rafts.
The effect of local bearing failure at the edge of a circular raft, which is dealt with by Brown
(1969), is not discussed in the present Paper because it does not appear to be significant in
normal design applications.

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 UNIFORMLY LOADED RAFTS ON ELASTIC FOUNDATIONS 401

MATHEMATICAL METHOD

The development of the required relationship between surface vertical stress and surface
vertical displacement of the foundation material from equations given by Sneddon (1951) is
outlined. This is followed by a description of the way this relationship is applied to the prob-
lem considered.
As shown by Sneddon, for the case of an axially symmetric problem of elasticity, the vertical
displacement and stress can be expressed in terms of a stress function G, by the following
equations
. . . . .

a, = . . . (2)
where z is the vertical co-ordinate (positive upward), and h and TVare the Lame elastic constants
of the foundation material.
For the case of an extensive deep foundation Sneddon shows that if the raft is smooth

G = ; (&++-ez . . . . . . .
where D depends on the surface reaction distribution and is a function of 5 only.
By means of the theory of Hankel transforms it can be seen from equations (2) and (3)
that when .z=O

2D52(h+p) = ~omJo(&)~~r . . . . . . (4)

if [uJ~=~ is written as (T. Thus the stress function can be determined from the vertical reac-
tion distribution applied to the surface of the foundation. Then using equation (3) for sub-
stitution into equation (1) and putting z = 0, it can be shown that

[-uz]z=o = TSurn Df2Jo(&) d.$ . . . . . .

Thus by means of two integrations, the vertical surface displacements can be obtained directly
from the vertical reaction distribution CJ.
The analysis is based on the assumption of a form of reaction distribution with unknown
coefficients. The deflexions of the raft and foundation material relative to the centre of the
raft are found in terms of these unknown coefficients. The coefficients are then evaluated by
means of an equation of vertical equilibrium of the raft, and by equating deflexions of the raft
and foundation material relative to the centre of the raft, at various radii. Since only
dimensionless results are required the analysis is simplified by taking the raft radius to be unity.
The reaction distribution is assumed to be of the form

The tractable form of this equation enables the raft deflexions relative to the centre of the raft
and also the bending moments to be determined by formal integration, in terms of the unknown
coefficients co . . . cll.
The expression for p(r) in equation (6) is unsuitable for substitution into equation (4) for
determination of foundation deflexions. However, if it is rewritten as

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 402 P. T. BROWN
0.08I I I I I

Fig. 2. Reaction distributions for

various raft stiffnesses and v,=O.3

Fig. 3. Bending moment distributions

for various raft stiffnesses and
v70.3

4 ,. K
Fig. 4. Variation of maximum mo- Fig. 5. Variation of differential de-
ment with raft stiffness flexion with raft stiffness
Table 1

10 7 1 0.1 0.01

M, Mt M, Mt Mb
__
0.0747 0.0747 0.0567 0.0567 0.0146 0.0146
0.0737 0.0741 0.0561 0.0564 0.0146 0.0146
0.0708 0.0724 0.0541 0.0552 0.0146 0.0146
0.0659 0.0696 0.0508 0.0533 0.0145 0.0146
0.0593 0.0658 0.0461 0.0506 0.0142 0.0144
0.0509 0.0609 0.0401 0.0472 0.0136 0.0142
0.0411 0.0551 0.0329 0.0430 0.0125 0.0136
0.0301 0.0486 0.0246 0.0381 0.0106 0.0127
0.0184 0.0415 0.0154 0.0327 0.0076 0.0114
0.0072 0.0343 0.0063 0.0271 0.0037 0.0095
0 0.0283 0 0.0222 0 0.0074
-
Bending moment distributions for V, = 0.3 expressed as moment/# for various values of K = [Ep( 1 -VT, /E,]
w3.

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 UNIFORMLY LOADED RAFTS ON ELASTIC FOUNDATIONS 403
the coefficients si and ci are simply related, and when p(r) is substituted in equation (4) the
integration can be performed by means of a standard integral and the result expressed in terms
of Bessel functions. The integration in equation (5) can also be performed by means of a
standard integral, but in this case the result is expressed in terms of hypergeometric functions
which are evaluated at selected values of r by summing terms of the infinite series representing
these functions. The mathematics discussed is dealt with in more detail by Brown (1967).
The deflexions of the raft and foundation material relative to the centre of the raft were
equated at r=O*l, 0.2.. . 0.9, 0.95, 1.0. Although the raft deflexions were initially calcu-
lated in terms of the coefficients ci, use of a simple transformation matrix enabled their con-
version to expressions in terms of the coefficients si. Eleven equations of collocation, or
equating deflexions, were used and the twelfth equation was provided by the condition of
vertical equilibrium.
When the coefficients si had been obtained by solution of these equations, they were con-
verted to values of ci by means of the transformation matrix mentioned, and used for evalua-
tion of the bending moments in the raft.

RESULTS

Reaction distributions for various values of relative raft stiffness are shown in Fig. 2, where
the relative raft stiffness is defined as K= [E,(l -~$)/E,](t/a)~.
The corresponding bending moment distributions are shown in Fig. 3. The results shown
in both of these figures are for the case of Poissons ratio of the raft equal to 0.3. Reduction
of the raft Poissons ratio to O-15 has little effect on the reaction distributions, but generally
reduces the values of bending moment as indicated in Fig. 4.
Values of bendingmoment are also shown in Table 1, from which it can be seen that in the
case of extremely flexible rafts the maximum bending moment does not occur at the centre
of the raft. The results have been checked by means of the equilibrium equation

M,+ f$%M,+Qr = 0

where Q is the shearing force per unit length, and have been checked against exact results for a
rigid raft. As a result of these checks it is believed that the values of moment tabulated are
accurate to the number of figures given. Further calculations have shown that for all but the
most flexible rafts, a series for the reaction distribution consisting of four terms instead of the
twelve actually used produces results of much better 1% accuracy.
The values of central moment obtained when the reaction was represented by a poly-
nomial, and the polynomial coefficients evaluated by equating raft and foundation deflexions,
were extrapolated by fitting an equation of the form b + (c/n) + (d/n) + (e/+z)+ (f/s) where n
is the number of polynomial terms. The value of b is the estimate of the central moment for an
infinitely large number of terms in the polynomial. For the case illustrated in Fig. 1, the value
of moment obtained in this way, which involved several repetitions of the solution for different
large values of n, was equal to the value of moment obtained by a single application of the
method presented using only twelve terms to represent the reaction distribution. This clearly
demonstrates the greater efficiency of the method presented.
The variation of maximum bending moment with relative raft stiffness is shown in Fig. 4
for the two most commonly used values of raft Poissons ratio, namely O-15 and 0.3. Fig. 4
shows the rapid change in maximum bending moment with raft stiffness for moderately
flexible rafts. In fact this change is so rapid that for values of K near 0.2 a considerable
increase in raft thickness is required to produce any significant decrease in raft stresses.
The variation of differential deflexion (the difference between central and edge deflexion)
with relative raft stiffness is shown in Fig. 5, for values of raft Poissons ratio of 0.15 and 0.3.

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 404 P. T. BROWN

As with the maximum moment, the differential deflexion changes rapidly with raft stiffness in
the region near K = 1.

CONCLUSIONS

The Paper presents an accurate and efficient method of analysis of uniformly loaded smooth
circular rafts of any flexibility on a deep isotropic elastic foundation material. Results for a
variety of cases are given and these should be adequate as a basis for design.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The work described forms part of a general programme of research into the settlement of
all types of foundations, under the general direction of Professor E. H. Davis. The work was
carried out in the School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney, the Head of which is
Professor J. W. Roderick, and was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Grants
Committee. The computational work was carried out using the facilities of the Basser Com-
puting Department of the School of Physics, University of Sydney.

REFERENCES
BOROWICKA, H. (1936). Influence of rigidity of a circular foundation slab on the distribution of pressures
over the contact surface. Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Soil Mech., 144.
BROWN, P. T. (1967). The effect of local bearing failure on moments in rigid circular rafts. School of Civil
Engineering, University of Sydney. Research Report No. R86.
BROWN, P. T. (1969). The effect of local bearing failure on behaviour of rigid circular rafts. To be published
by the Institution of Engineers, Australia.
FILONENKO-BORODICH,M. (1958). Theory of elasticity, p. 73. Moscow: Foreign Languages,
HABEL, A. (1937). Die auf dem elastisch-isotropen Halbraum aufruhende zentral-symmetrisch belastete
elastische Kreisplatte. Bauingenieur, 18, No. 15/16, 198.
HOLMBERG, A. (1946). Cirkulara plattor med jamnt fdrdelad last pa elastiskt underlag. Betong, No. 1, 7.
LEE, I. K. (1963). Elastic settlement of footings with a rough interface. Proc. 4th Aust. N.Z. Conf. Soil
Mech., 225.
MUSKHELISHVILI,N. I. (1953). Solne basic problems of the mathematical theory of elasticity, pp. 466, 480.
Groningen: Noordhoff.
PARKES, E.-W. (1956). A comparison of the contact pressures beneath rough and smooth rafts on an elastic
medium. Gdotechnique 6, No. 4. 183.
SNEDDON,I. N. (1951). Fourier transforms, ch. 10. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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